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78 RPM



78 RPM Record

Artist:Robert Johnson
Label:  Vocalion
Country:USA
Catalogue:04108
Date:May 1938
Format:10"
Collection:  I Own It     I Want It 
Community: 3 Own, 3 Want
Price Guide:$7836
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PRICE GUIDE
$7836


TrackArtistTitleComposerRating
ARobert JohnsonMe And The Devil BluesJohnson6.0  Rate
BRobert JohnsonLittle Queen of SpadesJohnsonRate


Notes

Blues Singing with Guitar.
Recorded on June 20, 1937 in Dallas, Texas.



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Comments and Reviews
 
BigBadBluesMan
30th Jul 2021
 
 
 
BigBadBluesMan
20th Feb 2015
 
 
 
fixbutte
11th Aug 2014
 A similarly unworried dealing with the devil you'll find on The Band's "The Weight", which was obviously influenced by Robert Johnson's song:
... I picked up my bag, I went lookin' for a place to hide;
When I saw Carmen and the Devil walkin' side by side.
I said, "Hey, Carmen, come on, let's go downtown."
She said, "I gotta go, but m'friend can stick around." ...
 
 
fixbutte
11th Aug 2014
 A-side label edited, "unknown" B-side added and its label image uploaded, release date and notes added.

"Me And The Devil Blues" is the only song in which Robert Johnson actually sings about the devil, thus his only traceable own contribution to the devil legend, saying that he became a genius on the guitar because he sold his soul to the devil at a crossroads. Listening to the two takes of his recording, however, you can't find anything really haunted or tortured in them. On the contrary, the words and Johnson's delivery appear self-assured and rather jovial: "Hello, Satan, I believe it's time to go / Me and the Devil was walkin' side by side ...". Accompanied by the devil, however, he might do things that are evil: "And I'm goin' to beat my woman until I get satisfied". And the singer, not necessarily a portrayal of Johnson himself, realizes that he's a sinner: "It must-a be that old evil spirit so deep down in the ground / ... You may bury my body, ooh down by the highway side / So my old evil spirit can catch a Greyhound bus and ride", what includes a lot of black humour, too. All in all, this was one of Johnson's most striking recordings, notably showing the full range and versality of his singing.

"Little Queen Of Spades" is a less original song, derived from Peetie Wheatstraw's "King Of Spades", of which Johnson not only took the idea but also the melody. Different from that one, Johnson sings about a woman, a fair brown one, who seems to be a smarter gambler than himself: "Let us put our heads together, hoo, fair brown, then we can make our money green."

This was Robert Johnson's eleventh single, and the last one that was issued during his life. On August 16, 1938, at the age of 27, he died near Greenwood, Mississippi. He may have been poisoned as some putative witnesses told later, or he may have died of syphilis, as it was noted as a possible cause of death on Johnson's death certificate.


 

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See Also

78 Record
Robert Johnson - Milkcow's Calf Blues / Malted Milk - Conqueror - USA - 8944 (1938)
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Robert Johnson - Stop Breakin' Down Blues / Honeymoon Blues - Vocalion - USA - 04002 (1938)
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Frank Novak And His Rootin' Tootin' Boys - Till We Meet Again / Oh You Beautiful Doll - Vocalion - USA - 04117 (1938)
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Pinetop Burks - Sun Down Blues / Fannie Mae Blues - Vocalion - USA - 04107 (1938)
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